This week, I reached Level 500 on the Words of Wonder game on Facebook.

Woo-hoo!

Hang on a minute…

500 levels?

It takes me about two minutes to play each level. And of course, I don’t always succeed the first time – sometimes it takes me weeks of trying.

And it’s not the only Facebook game I play, of course. There’s Candy Crush Saga, Juice Jam, some Christmas thing I can never remember the name of, Pet Rescue Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Guess the 70’s… and 80’s… and 90’s… and a whole load of others I tried for a few levels and then got bored with.

I’m not an online gaming addict, but over the last couple of years I must have played about 2500 games.

And I have to wait a few minutes before I play each time for it to load the game, ask me to ‘enjoy this message from our sponsor’ and try some pathetic attempts to trick me into buying ‘gold’ so I won’t realise how much the extra boosts will cost. Not a chance! I’m no sucker – or am I?

As I find my way through life, I’ve realized that the issues we experience are not here to ruin us, but to show us that we can go beyond our borders and discover even more pleasure.

Couple of years ago, I went through one of the most difficult periods in my life, since my marriage reached the point where it was clear that divorce was the only reasonable solution. The whole process ended fast, and before I even realized it, I became a single father with two young sons.

I felt I was lost in a huge lack of self-confidence and a feeling of confusion. Since my sons were pretty young, I never expected that their positive mindset and attitude would actually wake me up and completely refresh my life, but that’s what happened.

When you look around your home, do you come up with 100 excuses why you should keep all your junk? Or can you say, hand on heart, that everything there is something you really need to own? And that everything you don’t actually need is something you love, that brings you pleasure every time you see it?

I thought not – nor can I!

Let’s be honest – we’ve all got far too much stuff. And a lot of it is a total waste of space, money and energy. So instead of excuses to keep everything, let’s find some excuses to clear out the clutter and make space to enjoy the possessions we genuinely treasure.

The concept of honour may be ancient, but it can never be out-dated. You don’t need to slay dragons or rescue maidens to follow a warrior code – it’s as valid in a modern family or a business setting as it was in days of old.

Being a decent human being is its own reward – when you know you’re basically a good person instead of a slimy, back-stabbing weasel, it makes you feel good inside.

Long-term, it can win you warm and loving relationships based on genuine liking instead of smarmy flattery. It can get you further in life than any amount of clever scheming and office politics. And it can give you a better life – instead of trying to achieve a popularity-seeking, artificial personality you’ll never truly possess, you’ll have a life based on what you really are.

Noooooo! Not December already! All across the world, people are saying the same thing as I am – Christmas is on the way, and my house looks like a scene from Hoarding. How on earth will I get it clear in time for Christmas? Where on earth is it all going to go?

Well, this year, I’ve decided the answer is not “upstairs in the spare room with the door shut and let’s hope no one needs to stay the night.” The answer is, ‘OUT’.